Takoma Park officer says he used ‘lowest force’ possible

Policeman on trial for second-degree assault against a homeless man in January 2006 incident

Malarkey testified that he used ‘‘the absolute lowest force I could have possibly used,” and that listening to the officers’ accounts of the incident was ‘‘shocking testimony to hear.”

If convicted, Malarkey could receive probation or up to 18 months in prison, said Ramon Korionoff, spokesman for Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Glenn F. Ivey (D).

During the trial, which began May 14 and is expected to conclude today, several Takoma Park officers testified that Malarkey dropped onto Courtney with his knee after taking over a handcuffing from another officer, ‘‘slammed” Courtney against the back of Malarkey’s police cruiser, cursed at Courtney and brought Courtney’s arms up higher than necessary when lifting him off the ground.

Courtney, who police said was around 50 years old, was initially stopped by police for questioning and was handcuffed after running from officers and acting suspiciously. Following processing at the station, it was discovered Courtney was wanted for violating probation. Assistant State’s Attorney Heather Tierney, the prosecutor in the case, said the state did not know of Courtney’s whereabouts at this time.

Pfc. Derek Fields, the officer who ordered Courtney to lie down and initiated the handcuffing, testified last week that ‘‘there was nothing gentle” about Malarkey’s handling of Courtney.

According to testimony from several other officers, Malarkey took over handcuffing Courtney after putting his left knee onto Courtney’s back. Malarkey testified that using a knee was appropriate in handcuffing suspects on the ground. He said the reason he went straight down on Courtney rather than arching his back was due to previous use of muscle relaxant Flexeril to treat a back injury Malarkey sustained on duty in August 2005.

‘‘That’s how you stay alive, how you function as a team,” Malarkey said of taking over the handcuffing, adding that it was inappropriate for Fields to order Courtney onto the ground.

In a statement from the police department’s internal investigation, Cpl. Fred Roush said he had a conversation with Malarkey after the incident in which he told Malarkey to ‘‘ease up a little bit next time.”

Malarkey testified he did not remember the details of that conversation, adding that it occurred the day he learned he was to be placed on administrative leave.

‘‘At that point in time, I was facing a very serious, false accusation,” Malarkey said Monday.

Sgt. Dan Frishkorn, who was at the scene Jan. 8 and performed a second search on Courtney, said he did not fill out a use of force report despite concerns brought to him by several officers because he did not see any visible signs of injury on Courtney. Frishkorn, who lived with Malarkey for a year and a half, said, ‘‘I’m not going to let anyone put my career in jeopardy” when asked if his friendship with Malarkey had anything to do with his handling of the complaints.

Jeffery Johnson, a trauma surgeon with the University of Maryland Medical Center, treated Courtney five days after the incident. Johnson testified Monday that Courtney had three rib fractures on the left side of his body, a collapsed lung and a significant amount of blood in his chest cavity. According to medical records from the University of Maryland Medical Center, Courtney said he had been ‘‘stepped on” several days earlier by a police officer.

On the morning of Jan. 8, however, Courtney’s medical records from Washington Adventist Hospital showed he was treated only for pneumonia.

Witnesses testifying for the defense led by Greenbelt attorney Robert Bonsib said Malarkey is an honest police officer and a wonderful father to his 22-month-old daughter. Pfc. Kristian Pedersen, who has known Malarkey for six years, said Malarkey had never been involved in ‘‘doing anything against the law.”

Police Chief Ronald Ricucci said Tuesday he would not comment on Malarkey’s future until the trial is over.